Syrian Kurds gather at Turkey’s border gate, trying to break in and allow Turkey’s Kurds to cross in

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(20 Jan 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Syria-Turkey Border, Qamishli, Syria - 20 January 2026 1. Various of Turkish soldiers firing in air to push back protesters, UPSOUND gunfire 2. Protesters stepping on Turkish flag 3. Various of soldiers reloading and firing in air, UPSOUND gunfire 4. Protesters gathered at Syrian side of border, fire in background 5. Various of girls carrying YPJ (Women's Protection Units) flag and chanting (Kurdish): “Long live the resistance of YPJ” 6. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Lorin Sheikho, Kurdish supporter from Qamishli: “I am a Kurdish girl and came to stand up at the border, to show our support for YPG (People's Defense Units) and YPJ (Women's Protection Units). We declared general mobilization and we are all behind you Mazloum Abdi. We will not leave our land no matter what happens. We hope from all Kurds in north, south, east and west to uprise. No one stays at home. Come out, today is the existence or non-existence day for us. We will be victorious; it will be our victory. Victory, victory, victory.” 7. Various of protesters heading to border gate 8. Protesters pushed back by firing and water cannons, man making V signs with fingers 9. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Jamila Othman, displaced Kurd from Afrin: “At this crossing gate, they are shooting tear gas and bullets on protesters. There are injured people, and the shooting is continuing. It is horrible.” 10. Various of people protesting, chanting 11. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Abdullah Farhan, volunteer from Qamishli: “I have a message for the NATO allies; we have sacrificed 14,000 to 15,000 martyrs fighting along NATO allies. But today, the NATO allies are turning their back to us. However, as far as we are alive, our kids are alive, we won’t let our fighters fall. We will be always standing tall.” 12. Wide of people gathered at the crossing gate, smoke in foreground 13. Mid of truck and water cannons 14. Various of injured people carried away by protesters 15. Protesters running, UPSOUND gunfire STORYLINE: Hundreds of Syrian Kurds gathered at the Syrian-Turkish border on Tuesday to try to break in and allow Turkey's Kurds to cross into Syria. At Nusaybin, a group of protesters lowered a Turkish flag from a military observation post, sparking clashes with police who shot into the air and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters. “Today is the existence or non-existence day for us. We will be victorious; it will be our victory. Victory, victory, victory,” said Lorin Sheikho, a Kurdish supporter from Qamishli. Several people were injured or suffocated by tear gases, and they were carried away by protesters at the gate. “They are shooting tear gas and bullets on protestors. There are injured people, and the shooting is continuing. It is horrible,” said Jamila Othman, a displaced Kurd from Afrin living now in Qamishli. Turkish soldiers closed the border and continued to fire, to push back and disperse protesters. “Today, the NATO allies are turning their back to us. However, as far as we are alive, our kids alive, we won’t let our fighters to fall. We will be always standing tall,” said Abdullah Farhan, a volunteer from Qamishli. It comes as the Syrian government on Sunday announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade. The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces toward the east. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e534638fcfcb4508b54d126062835d37